Carnival by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Author:Jane Harvey-Berrick [Harvey-Berrick, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: carnival
Publisher: Harvey Berrick Publishing
Published: 2017-12-25T16:00:00+00:00

Earlier that summer . . .

I was so sick of the arguments.

I needed to get out. Even on my birthday, they wouldn’t leave me alone. My (former) best friend, Talia, had seemed sympathetic, even though I hadn’t told her everything that was going on with me. It turned out that I was right not to trust her. But at the time of my birthday, we were still close, or so I thought. She arranged for a bunch of our friends to go over to the fair at the county grounds on the edge of town. I needed the distraction, but I hadn’t wanted to be stuck with them either, especially as I was in such a bad mood all the time, so I said I’d meet them there. But then Talia had gone behind my back and told Owen where I’d be. She knew I’d been avoiding him, she just didn’t know why . . . with good reason.

He ambushed me by the Ferris wheel, demanding that I give him an answer.

“Tell me! You’re going to do it, right? Tell me!”

He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. I was so scared that I found the strength to pull free and I ran and ran, losing myself in the crowds.

I knew that I couldn’t go back to my car, so I made my way toward the small arena, because that was the busiest part of the fair and I needed to stay hidden. I couldn’t think, didn’t know what to do, so I hid in the crowds, keeping my head down. I could hear the buzz and roar of a motorcycle show, and every now and then I saw these crazy guys as they popped up above the screens around the arena’s perimeter, doing handstands, spins, turns and somersaults in the air.

Even though I was still shaking with fear from Owen’s assault, I’d been mesmerized by everything that I saw. What would it be like to be so free, free from fear, free from all the things that tied me to this small town, to all the disappointment, arguments and hatred?

When the crowds began to thin out again, I retreated even further. I hid in a stand of trees on the edge of the fairground with no plan in mind, except that I had to stay away from Owen.

I knew that the motorcycle show had finished, because the roar of the crowd had reached a crescendo then died away to a low rumble as people headed back along the midway.

And that’s when I saw the man. One of the stunt riders that I’d been watching came bumping across the dusty lot on his bike. They’d all worn black leathers, but he was the one wearing a helmet with slashes of electric blue like lightning. I’d seem him cartwheeling across the sky on his bike—unbelievably high.

I watched as he parked under the shade of a tree, propping the bike on its slim stand and pulling off his helmet.

His hair was jet black and he looked tall and lean like a panther with an air of danger surrounding him.

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